Clothes hanger hold down clamp



July 12, 1966 c. E. GINGHER CLOTHES HANGER HOLD DOWN CLAMP 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 20, 1964 INVENTOR.

CARL E. GINGHER BY W Y July 12, 1966 c. E. GINGHER CLOTHES HANGER HOLDDOWN CLAMP 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 20, 1964 INVENTOR.

CARL E. GINGHER United States Patent Office 3,260,427 CLOTHES HANGERHOLD DOWN CLAMP Carl E. Gingher, 104 Gentilly Drive, Scranton, Pa. FiledMay 20, 1964, Ser. No. 368,948 15 Claims. (Cl. 223-91) The presentinvention relates to garment holders, more particularly, to a clotheshanger having a clamping member for holding down garments supported onthe cross bar of the hanger.

A popular form of clothes hanger comprises a curved shoulder bar forsupporting garments with a cross bar interconnecting the ends of theshoulder bar and also for supporting garments, usually trousers orslacks. The trousers are folded over the cross bar but are susceptibleof sliding off if the hanger is suddenly or vigorously han dled.Accordingly, many different solutions have been proposed to retain thetrousers on the cross bar under all conditions. Such solutions generallycomprise the use of a clamping structure to clamp the trousers againstthe cross bar or applying a non-skid surface to the cross bar, or acombination of both.

While many forms of clamping structures have been proposed, none haveattained great popularity. Such clamping arrangements may be generallysaid to have one or more of several disadvantages, such as a complicatedstructure, diflicult in operation, short operating life or too expensiveto manufacture in view of the relatively low price of clothes hangers.

It is therefore the principal object of the present invention to providea novel and improved clothes hanger assembly including a hold down clamparrangement for retaining garments on the cross bar of the hanger.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a hold downclamp arrangement for clothes hangers which is simple in constructionand can be readily ma. nipulated with a minimum of effort.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a hold downclamp arrangement for clothes hangers which will securely retaingarments on the cross bar but which can be easily released to permitremoval of these garments.

The objects of the present invention are attained and the disadvantagesof previously known hangers are avoided by the improved clampingarrangement disclosed herein. In this invention the clothes hangerassembly includes a curved shoulder bar for supporting garments with ahanger hook upstanding from the shoulder bar and a cross barinterconnecting the ends of the shoulder bar. The hold down clamparrangement comprises a hold down member which is pivotally mounted onthe shoulder bar for pivotal movement between a hold down positionagainst the upper surface of the cross bar and a release position spacedaway from the cross bar. The pivotal connection with the shoulder bar islocated between the hold down and release positions. A spring urges thehold down member toward the hold down position when it is on the holddown side of the pivotal connection and toward the release position whenthe hold down member is on the release side of the pivotal connection.

The hold down member preferably comprises a pair of clamps which arespaced on a rod and are slidably mounted thereon. The spring is mountedon the rod and engages the inner ends of the clamps so as to urge theclamps away from each other. A U-shaped link pivotally connects eachclamp to the shoulder bar.

Several modifications of the shape of the links and the mounting of theclamps on the rod are also disclosed.

Another form of clamping arrangement comprises a bar which is pivotallyconnected to the shoulder bar by resilient links which function to urgethe bar toward either the hold down or release positions.

3,26%,42? Patented July 12, 19%6 Other objects and advantages of thepresent invention will be apparent upon reference to the accompanyingdescription when taken in conjunction with the following drawings,wherein:

FIGURE 1 is an overall perspective view of the clothes hanger of thepresent invention looking downwardly upon the hanger from the frontthereof;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of one end of the hanger viewed frombelow showing the manner in which the cross bar is secured to the endsof the shoulder bar;

FIGURE 3 is an exploded view in perspective illustrating the attachmentof the hand grip member to the underside of the shoulder bar;

FIGURE 4 is an elevational view of the uppermost portion of the hanger,partially in section, showing the attachment of the hanger hook to theshoulder bar;

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view similar to that of FIG- URE 5 but showing amodified link structure;

FIGURE 7 is a view similar to that of FIGURE 1 but only of the lowerportion of the hanger and showing a modification in the hold down clamparrangement;

FIGURE 8 is a sectional view taken along the line 8-8 of FIGURE 7;

FIGURE 9 is a view similar to that of FIGURE 7 and showing a furthermodification in the hold down clamp arrangement;

FIGURE 10 is a sectional view taken along the line 1010 of FIGURE 9;

FIGURE 11 is a view similar to that of FIGURE 7 and showing anothermodification of the hold down clamp arrangement;

FIGURE 12 is a sectional view taken along the line 12-12 of FIGURE 11;

FIGURE 13 is a view similar to that of FIGURE 7 and showing stillanother modification of the hold down clamp arrangement; and

FIGURE 14 is :a sectional view similar to that of FIG- URE 5 but of thelower portion thereof to show a cushion in the hold down clamp.

A specific embodiment and several modifications of the present inventionwill next be described in detail with reference to the drawings whereinlike reference symbols indicate the same parts throughout the variousviews.

Referring to FIGURES 14 there is shown a clothes hanger of the presentinvention indicated generally at 1 and comprising a shoulder bar 2formed from a channel member and having an inverted U-shaped crosssection. The shoulder bar 2 forms the main support for garments hungthereon. To support the hanger, a hanger hook 3 having a shank portion 4is secured to the shoulder bar at the midsection thereof. The shank 4 isinserted through an opening 5 in the shoulder bar. The inserted portionof the shank is bent at 6 and secured to the underside of the shoulderbar, such as by welding, as shown in FIGURE 4.

The hook 3 is formed of wire and may be plated or coated with a suitablemetal to enhance its appearance and to improve resistance to corrosionand wear.

Between the inner faces of the ends 7 and 8 of the shoulder bar 2, thereis provided a bottom cross bar 9 which similarly comprises a channelmember of inverted U-shaped cross-section. The cross bar 9 is secured inposition by clamping the parts together as shown in FIGURE 2. Asillustrated, the bottom ends 10 of the shoulder bar 2 are rounded andthen turned inwardly and upwardly. The abutting ends of the cross bar 9are bent downwardly as at 11 to fit closely within the socket 12 formedat the end of the shoulder bar. The bent end 11 of the cross bar is spotwelded to the shoulder bar as indicated at 13.

In order to strengthen the hanger or to provide a convenient hand gripfor the hanger, a hand grip member 14 is attached to the underside ofthe mid-section of the shoulder bar 2 as shown in FIGURES l and 3. Thehand grip member 14 has a U-shaped cross-section with a flat bottom wall15 and upstanding side walls 16 and 17. The upper edges of the sidewalls 16 and 17 are curved to conform to the shoulder bar so as to fitsnugly within the underside of the shoulder bar. These are extensions 18at both ends of the bottom wall 14 and the extensions are spot welded tothe underside of the shoulder bar as indicated at 19.

The broad side walls 16 and 17 of the hand grip member may also be usedto carry various marking thereon for advertising purposes or foridentification. The hanger of this invention may also be constructed andused without the hand grip member, if desired.

The garment hold down arrangement is indicated at 20 and comprises apair of hold down clamps 21 and 22 which also have inverted U-shapedcross-sections. The top surface of the clamp, indicated at 23, has adownwardlypunched strip portion 24. A rod 25 is slidably receivedbetween the underside of the top surface and the punched portion of eachclamp, as shown in FIGURE 5, so that the clamps 21 and 22 are slidablymounted on said rod. A coil spring 26 is mounted on the rod 25 betweenthe clamps 21 and 22 with the ends of the spring engaging downwardlybent portions 27 on the inner ends of the clamps to urge the clamps awayfrom each other.

The length of the rod 25 is slightly less than the distance between theouter ends of the clamps when the clamps are closest to each other. Thisoccurs when both links and the rod 25 are aligned to define a straightline. Thus, both ends of the rod 25 will never contact the outer ends ofthe clamps at the same time, but the rod is still sufiicient-ly longthat the ends of the rod will not slip out of the punched strip portions24 on the clamps when the clamps are furthest apart.

The outer ends of the clamps are formed into tubular portions 28. Thebottom edges of the clamps 21 and 22 may be flared outwardly at 29, asshown in FIGURE 6 to conform more closely to the contour of the crossbar 9.

The clamps 21 and 22 are each pivotally connected to the shoulder bar ata point about one-half of the vertical distance from the top of thecross bar 9 to the bottom 15 of the hand grip member 14 by U-shapedlinks 30. The links 30 have closed ends 31 which are hingedly retainedin the tubular portions 28 on the outer ends of the clamps 21 and 22.The legs 32 of the links 30 are flared outwardly at 33 so that the majorportion of the legs are spaced further apart than the Width of theshoulder bar 2 as may be seen in FIGURE 5. The extreme ends 34 of thelegs of the links are bent inwardly at 35 and inserted through holes 36in the flanges of the shoulder bar to connect pivotally the links 30with the shoulder bar.

As will be evident from FIGURE 1, the tension force of the spring 26will urge the clamps 21 and 22 apart until the clamps engage the uppersurface of the cross bar in a hold down position. Any garments on thecross bar 9 will be pressed against the cross bar by the clamps 21 and22 to be retained thereon.

To release the garments, the links can be easily flicked upwardly withthe fingers to the release position indicated by the phantom lines inFIGURE 1. Here also, the tension force of the spring 26 urges the clampsoutwardly until the movement of the entire clamping arrangement islimited by the flared portions 33 of the legs of the links contactingthe edges of the shoulder bar. The clamps will then be held in thisrelease position by the spring 26 until the clamping arrangement ismoved downwardly to the hold down position.

To facilitate the movement of the clamps between the hold down andrelease positions, the closed ends 31 of the links 30 are aligned withthe rod 25 in a straight line. While the clamps can be activated if thelink closed ends, i.e. pivotal connections are not aligned with the rod,the operation is considerably smoother and can be carried out easierwhen this alignment is present.

By positioning the rod adjacent the upper surfaces of the clamps, therod 25 and spring 26 are spaced sufficiently above the cross bar 9 toprovide sufficient clearance to accommodate easily extra thicknesses ofmaterial caused by seams of trousers and skirts at this center location.

The various hanger components, such as the shoulder and cross bars,clamps and hand grip member, are formed from sheet metal and finished todesired colors by a permanent baked-on enamel. The engagement of theclamps upon the cross bar will secure garments therein, but, if desired,a cushion piece 37 such as of rubber, felt, plastic or other materialsmay be fastened in the U-shaped clamps as shown in FIGURE 14. In thisarrangement, the cushioning piece 37 will engage the cross bar orgarments in position upon the cross bar. Using such a cushioning piecewill also prevent marring of the finish on the cross bar by the movementof the clamps to and from the hold down position.

The position of the spring 26 on the hold down clamp arrangement and thepivotal connections of the links with the shoulder bar and theirrespective clamps is such that the spring acts upon the clampsindividually. When the pivot connection 28 of a link and its clamp is onthe hold down position side of a straight line defined by the link inalignment with the rod 25, then the spring will urge that clamp to thehold down position. Similarly, when the pivot connection 28 is on therelease side of that straight line, the spring will urge the clamp tothe release position. When one clamp, for example clamp 21, is in therelease position, the spring will act in the same manner on the otherclamp 22; i.e. the position of the pivot connection 28 of the clamp 22with respect to the straight line defined by the rod 25 in alignmentwith the respective link will determine to which position the springwill urge the clamp 22. However, when one clamp is in the releaseposition, only the outer end of the other clamp will engage the uppersurface of the cross bar 9.

Proceeding to FIGURE 6, there is illustrated a modified link 38 having aclosed end 39 which is pivotally retained in the clamp tubular portion28 as above but wherein the legs 40 are straight and substantiallyparallel to each other. The extreme ends 41 of the legs are bentoutwardly at 42 to be inserted into the holes 36 in the flanges of theshoulder bar 2. The ends 43 of the bent portions 42 may be riveted toprevent withdrawal of the bent portions from the flange holes 36,thereby providing a permanent assembly. This type of link and manner oflink connection to the shoulder bar may be used when it is desirable tohave the entire hold down clamp arrangement nested within the shoulderbar, i.e. the clamp arrangement is narrower than the shoulder bar.

In the modification of FIGURES 7 and 8, the clamp hold down arrangement20 has a rod 44 surrounded by the spring 26. The ends 45 and 46 of therod 44 extend beyond the outer ends of the clamps 21 and 22. The innerends of the clamps are bent downwardly at 47 and have holes 48therethrough to slidably receive the rod 44. Similarly, the outer endsof the clamps are bend dowr' wardly at 49 and have holes 50 therein toreceive the rod 44. The ends 45 and 46 of the rod are flattened at 51 toprevent the ends of the rod from being withdrawn through the clamp outerend holes 50.

There are opposed openings 52 in the outer ends of the clamp flangesadjacent the upper surfaces of the clamps to receive the closed ends 53of links 54. The links 54 have straight parallel legs 55 with the outerends 56 of the legs being bent inwardly at 57 and inserted into theopenings 36 in the flanges of the shoulder bar. In this modification,the release position of the clamps is determined by the engagement oflink closed ends 53 with edges of the flanges of the shoulder bar.

This modification has the rod 44 closer to the cross bar since the rodis positioned lower in the clamps in order to pass under the link closedends 53 as shown in FIG- URE 8. The applications of this modificationwould be limited to supporting on the cross bar garments which do nothave extra thicknesses of material as the result of seams or the like.

Proceeding next to FIGURES 9 and 10 there is shown another modificationof the hold down clamps. The hold down arrangement comprises clamps 58and 59 each of which has axially extending tubular portions 60 and 61punched outwardly in the top surfaces thereof. The rod 25 is thenslidably received in these tubular portions and upon the unpunchedportion 62 of the clamp top surface. The clamps 58 and 59 are pivotallyconnected to the shoulder bar by links 63 which are similar to links 54in FIGURE 7. The links 63 are hingedly connected to the clamps 58 and 59in a manner similar to that described above for FIGURE 7.

In the modification of FIGURES 9 and 10 the rod 24 is positioned abovethe pivot connections of the clamps and links. As a result, greatertension in the spring 26 is necessary for the proper operation of thishold down clamp arrangement. Also, this ofl-center positioning of therod makes this arrangement somewhat more difficult to operate.

Another characteristic of this modification is that the clamps nestcloser to the hand grip member when in the release position.

With reference to FIGURES l1 and 12, there is shown a still furthermodification of the hold down clamp arrangement wherein one of the twoclamps can remain in the hold down position against the cross bar whilethe other clamp is in the release position. In this modification, clamps64 and 65 are formed of channel members and have inverted U-shapedcross-sections. The ends 66 and 67 are both bent downwardly. OpposedL-shaped slots 68 are formed in the flanges of the clamps to receive theclosed ends of the links 69 which may be similar to the links of FIGURES9 and 10.

On the top sides 70 of the clamps 64 and 65 are mounted tabs 71 whichhave holes therethrough to receive the rod 72. The ends 73 of the rod 72are flattened to prevent withdrawal of the rod through the tab holes.The tab 71 may also be formed from the top surface of the clamps so asto be integral therewith. The tab holes are sufliciently greater indiameter than the rod 72 to permit pivoting movement of the rod withrespect to the tab 71. With this construction, one clamp can remain inthe hold down position while the other clamp is in the release position.

A tension spring 74 surrounds the rod 72 and acts upon the inner facesof the tabs 71 to urge the clamps 64 and 65 outwardly and thus, toretain the clamps in either the hold down or release positions.

Proceeding next to FIGURE 13, this modification of the hold down clamparrangement comprises a single bar 75 connected to the shoulder bar byspring links 76. The bar 75 is formed of a channel member and has aninverted U-shaped cross-section. The ends of the bar are bent inwardlyto form tubular portions 77 which pivotally receive closed ends 78 ofthe links 76. The links 76 are V-shaped but each of the legs 79 has aloop 80 therein. Also, the legs are each formed of two portions 81 and82 which are at an angle, greater than with respect to each other. Theextreme ends 83 of the legs are bent inwardly and inserted throughopenings 36 in the flanges of the shoulder bar 2.

' The links 76 are formed from spring wire and shaped so as to have aspring action exerted against the ends of the bar 75. The links functionto retain the bar 75 in either the hold down or release positions sincein the hold down position the forces exerted by the springs 76 urge 6the bar 75 downwardly against the cross bar 9, whereas when the bar 75is in the release position the forces exerted by the springs urge thebar 75 upwardly against the shoulder bar 2.

The bar 75 may be straight as in FIGURE 3 or may have the centerportions of the flanges removed to provide clearance for extrathicknesses of material in garments supported on the cross bar. The barmay also have the edges flared outwardly, as at 29 in FIGURE 6, or maybe provided with a cushioning piece as shown in FIGURE 14.

While the foregoing hanger assemblies have been described as being madeof metal, all or only several of the hanger components may be made ofsynthetic plastics, such as heat-curable resins, e.g. epoxy resin, ureaformaldehyde resin or the like. The plastic parts are preferablycemented together with a suitable cement or bonding agent, such as apolyester-styrene copolymer. By using such resinous cements plasticparts may be bonded to metal parts. This would permit-the cross bar 9 tobe made of plastic and the shoulder bar 2 of metal. Also, the hand gripmember 14 may be made of a plastic and then bonded to a metal shoulderbar. The hand grip member 14 may be formed of a transparent syntheticplastic with advertising or other markings applied to the inner surfaceof the side walls 16 and 17 where the markings are protected fromobliteration due to handling of the clothes hanger.

The clothes hanger of this invention with any of the foregoing hold downclamp arrangements or modifications thereof may be used with or withoutthe hand grip member. Further, any of the foregoing clamp or linkconstructions may be used interchangeably for particular applications.

Thus it can be seen that the present invention has disclosed a clotheshanger having an improved hold down clamp arrangement for retaininggarments on the hanger cross bar. The clamp arrangement is not onlysimple in construction and easy to operate but exerts a positiveclamping action to secure garments on the cross bar. The construction issuch that the clamp arrangement can be easily and quickly moved awayfrom the cross bar with a flick of the fingers to release the garments.

It will be understood that the particular construction and arrangementof the hanger as described above and illustrated in the drawings is notlimitative of the invention since numerous changes and substitutions ofparts may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention, the same being more particularly setout in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A clothes hanger comprising a curved shoulder bar for supporting agarment, a hanger hook upstanding from said shoulder bar, a cross barinterconnecting the ends of said shoulder bar, a garment hold downmember having a rigid non-resilient clamp element pivotally mounted onsaid shoulder bar for pivotal movement between a hold down positionagainst the upper surface of said cross bar and a release position awayfrom said cross bar, said hold down member pivot mount being on thatportion of the shoulder bar between said cross bar and said releaseposition, and resilient means acting on said hold down member forretaining said hold down member in that one of said hold down andrelease positions to which said member is moved.

2. A clothes hanger comprising a curved shoulder bar for supporting agarment, a hanger hook upstanding from said shoulder bar, a cross barinterconnecting the ends of said shoulder bar, a garment hold downmember including a pair of spaced hold down clamps, links pivotallyconnecting said clamps with said shoulder bar for pivotal movementbetween a hold down position against the upper surface of said cross barand a release position away from said cross bar, and means forresiliently urging said clamps away from each other to maintain thespaced relationship therebetween.

3. In a clothes hanger having a curved shoulder bar for supporting agarment, a hanger hook upstanding from said shoulder bar, and a crossbar interconnecting the ends of said shoulder bar; a garment hold downarrangement comprising a pair of spaced axially movable hold downclamps, links pivotally connecting said clamps with said shoulder barfor pivotal movement between a hold down position against the uppersurface of said cross bar and a release position away from said crossbar, said hold down position being on one side of the links pivotalconnection with the shoulder bar and the release position on the otherside of said pivotal connection, and means between said clamps forresiliently urging said clamps away from each other so that said clampsare retained in that one of said hold down and release positions towhich the clamps are moved,

4. In a clothes hanger having a curved shoulder bar for supporting agarment, a hanger hook upstanding from said shoulder bar, and a crossbar interconnecting the ends of said shoulder bar; a garment hold downarrangement comprising a rod, a pair of hold down clamps slidablymounted on said rod, links pivotally connecting said clamps with saidshoulder bar for pivotal movement between a hold down position againstthe upper surface of said cross bar and a release position away fromsaid cross bar, said hold down position being on one side of the linkspivotal connection with the shoulder bar and the release position on theother side of said pivotal connection, and a spring between said clampsfor urging said clamps away from each other so that said clamps areretained in that one of said hold down and release positions to whichthe clamps are moved.

5. In a clothes hanger having a curved shoulder bar for supporting agarment, a hanger hook upstanding from aid shoulder bar, and a cross barinterconnecting the ends of said shoulder bar; a garment hold downarrangement comprising a rod, a pair of hold down clamps slidablymounted on said rod, links pivotally connecting said clamps with saidshoulder bar for pivotal movement between a hold down position againstthe upper surface of said cross bar and a release position away fromsaid cross bar, said hold down position being on one side of the linkspivotal connection with the shoulder bar and the release position on theother side of said pivotal connection, and a spring mounted on said rodand engaging the inner ends of said clamps to urge said clamps away fromeach other so that said clamps are retained in that one of said holddown and release positions to which the clamps are moved.

6. In a clot-hes hanger having a curved shoulder bar for supporting agarment and having openings therein, a hanger hook upstanding from saidshoulder bar, and a cross bar interconnecting the ends of said shoulderbar; a garment hold down arrangement comprising a pair of spaced axiallymovable hold down clamps, links pivotally connecting said clamps withsaid shoulder bar for pivotal movement between a hold down positionagainst the upper surface of said cross bar and a release position awayfrom said cross bar, said links being U-shaped with the closed endsbeing hingedly connected to said clamps and the extremities at the openends of the links being bent and inserted into openings in said shoulderbar to form a pivotal connection therewith, said hold down positionbeing on one side of the links pivotal connection with the shoulder barand the release position on the other side of said pivotal connection,and means between said clamps for resiliently urging said clamps awayfrom each other so that said clamps are retained in that one of saidhold down and release positions to which the clamps are moved.

7. In a clothes hanger having a curved shoulder bar for supporting agarment, a hanger hook upstanding from said shoulder bar, and a crossbar interconnecting the ends of shoulder bar; a garment hold downarrangement comprising a rod, a pair of hold down clamps each having aninverted U-shaped cross-section with an inwardly punched strip portionto slidably receive said rod between said strip portion and theunderside of the upper surface of the clamp, links pivotally connectingsaid clamps with said shoulder bar for pivotal movement between a holddown portion against the upper surface of said cross bar and a releaseposition away from said cross bar, said hold down position being on oneside of the links pivotal connection with the shoulder bar and therelease position on the other side of said pivotal connection, and aspring mounted on said rod and engaging the inner ends of said clamps tourge said clamps away from each other so that said clamps are retainedin that one of said hold down and release positions to which the clampsare moved.

8. In a clothes hanger as claimed in claim 7 and further comprisingmeans retained in said hold down clamps and engageable with the uppersurface of said cross bar for cushioning said clamps against said crossbar and for retaining garments thereon.

9. In a clothes hanger having a curved shoulder bar for supporting agarment, a hanger hook upstanding from said shoulder bar, and a crossbar interconnecting the ends of said shoulder bar; a garment hold downarrangement comprising a pair of spaced axially movable hold downclamps, upstanding tabs on said clamps having apertures therethrough, arod slidably received in said apertures whereby said hold down clampsare slidably mounted therein, links pivotally connecting said clampswith said shoulder bar for pivotal movement between a hold down positionagainst the upper surface of said cross bar and a release position awayfrom said cross bar, said hold down position being on one side of thelinks pivotal connection with the shoulder bar and the release positionon the other side of said pivotal connection, and a spring on said rodbetween said tabs and engageable with said tabs to urge said clamps awayfrom each other so that said clamps are retained in that one of saidhold down and release positions to which the clamps are moved.

10. In a clothes hanger as claimed in claim 6 wherein the legs of saidlinks are substantially parallel and the extremities thereof are bentoutwardly.

11. In a clothes hanger as claimed in claim 6 wherein the legs of saidlinks taper outwardly and the extremities thereof are bent inwardly.

12. In a clothes hanger having a curved shoulder bar for supporting agarment, a hanger hook upstanding from said shoulder bar, and a crossbar interconnecting the ends of said shoulder bar; a garment hold downarrangement comprising a rod, a pair of hold down clamps slidablymounted on said rod, links pivotally connecting said clamps with saidshoulder bar for pivotal movement between a hold down position againstthe upper surface of said cross bar and a release position away fromsaid cross bar, and a spring between said clamps for urging said clampsaway from each other so that said clamps are retained in that one ofsaid hold down and release positions to which the clamps are moved, saidrod passing through said clamps and extending outwardly of the outerends thereof.

13. A garment hanger assembly comprising a shoulder bar having aninverted U-shaped cross-section for supporting a garment, a cross bar ofinverted U-shaped crosssection secured thereto and extending between theopposite ends of said shoulder bar, a hanger hook connected to saidshoulder bar for supporting said hanger, a pair of spaced hold downclamps each having an inverted U- shaped cross-section and engageablewith the upper surface of said cross bar, a rod slidably supporting saidclamps thereon, U-shaped links having the closed ends thereof hingedlyconnected to said clamps and the extremities at the open ends of thelinks being pivotally connected with said shoulder bar, said clampshaving a pivotal movement between a hold down position against the uppersurface of said cross bar and a release position away from said crossbar, and a spring mounted on said rod and engaging the inner ends ofsaid clamps to urge said clamps away from each other so that said clampsare retained in that one of said hold down and release positions towhich the clamps are moved.

14. In a clothes hanger having a curved shoulder bar for supporting agarment, a hanger hook upstanding from said shoulder bar, and a crossbar interconnecting the ends of said shoulder bar; a garment hold downarrangement comprising a rigid garment hold down bar engageable with theupper surface of said cross bar to define a hold down position, andresilient means pivotally connecting the ends of said hold down bar withsaid shoulder bar for movement between said hold down position and arelease position away from said cross bar and for yieldably retainingthe hold down bar in that position to which said hold down bar is moved,the distances between the ends of said bar and the respective pivotmounts on said shoulder bar varying as said bar moves between said holddown and release positions.

15. In a clothes hanger having a curved shoulder bar for supporting agarment, a hanger hook upstanding from said shoulder bar, and a crossbar interconnecting the ends of said shoulder bar; a garment hold downarrangement comprising a rod, a pair of hold down clamps slidablymounted on said rod, links pivotally connecting said clamps with saidshoulder bar for pivotal movement between a hold down position againstthe upper surface of said cross bar and a release position away fromsaid cross bar, said rod and the pivotal connections of said links tosaid clamps being aligned in a straight line, said hold down positionbeing on one side of the links pivotal connection with the shoulder barand the release position on the other side of said pivotal connection,and a spring between said clamps for urging said clamps away from eachother so that said clamps are retained in that one of said hold down andrelease positions to which the clamps are moved.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,206,348 11/1916MacPherson 223-91 2,527,869 10/ 1950 Wintergreen 22391 2,886,224 5/1959Bourne 22391 2,963,207 12/1960 Glowka 22391 3,054,539 9/1962 Deutsch etal. 22391 3,086,687 4/1963 Glowka 22391 JORDAN FRANKLIN, PrimaryExaminer. G. H. KRIZMANICH, Assistant Examiner.

1. A CLOTHES HANGER COMPRISING A CURVED SHOULDER BAR FOR SUPPORTING AGARMENT, A HANGER HOOK UPSTANDING FROM SAID SHOULDER BAR, A CROSS BARINTERCONNECTING THE ENDS OF SAID SHOULDER BAR, A GARMENT HOLD DOWNMEMBER HAVING A RIGID NON-RESILIENT CLAMP ELEMENT PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ONSAID SHOULDER BAR FOR PIVOTAL MOVEMENT BETWEEN A HOLD DOWN POSITIONAGAINST THE UPPER SURFACE OF SAID CROSS BAR AND A RELEASE POSITION AWAYFROM SAID CROSS BAR, SAID HOLD DOWN MEMBER PIVOT MOUNT BEING ON THATPORTION OF THE SHOULDER BAR BETWEEN SAID CROSS BAR AND SAID RELEASEPOSITION, AND RESILIENT MEANS ACTING ON SAID HOLD DOWN MEMBER FORRETAINING SAID HOLD DOWN MEMBER IN THAT ONE OF SAID HOLD DOWN ANDRELEASE POSITIONS TO WHICH SAID MEMBER IS MOVED.